Economics

Fragile Job Gains for Black Workers at Stake in Inflation Fight

Two years after the murder of George Floyd, the progress on Black employment risks coming undone in an all-out effort to tame inflation.

A worker assembles truck engine components auto part factory in South Carolina. — A worker assembles truck engine components auto part factory in South Carolina.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

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By Matthew Boesler, Jonnelle Marte, and Catarina Saraiva

May 25, 2022 at 11:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the May 30, 2022 issue of businessweek.

For Black Americans, job prospects have improved since 2020. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the gains eked out since the murder of George Floyd two years ago appear as fragile as ever. Indeed, inflation is threatening to upend progress in the labor market as policymakers respond to a backlash against rising prices.